


trope

by miastree



Category: Newsies - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Getting Together, Jealousy, M/M, Mutual Pining, and jack is a drama queen, katherine is a good bro, somewhere in there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-10-17 14:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10595793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miastree/pseuds/miastree
Summary: A paper round, teenage years, college and an apartment. Jack and Davey do everything together, until they don't.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this is 97% [gillian's]() fault, i just decided to write it  
> (her original thoughts were "imagine a javid fic with literally every cliché ever" and this happened)  
> you're welcome  
> p.s. even in a modern au jack would totally have his accent, let's be real.

Jack Kelly has never called himself selfish. 

Other people might have, but that was besides the point.

The fact remains that Jack likes to hide the last cookie in a secret cupboard somewhere so he can eat it, he likes to see the headlines before anyone else so he can be the first to let others know the day's news and of course, there's Davey.

Jack retains a different kind of selfishness for Davey and although he's always sort of aware of it, it doesn't rear it's head for a long time.

They've been best friends for years. They met on their paper round when they were eleven, joined forces to campaign for free popsicles during the summer, threatening to strike if they didn't get at least one freezie to share after a round. After that they became pretty much inseparable. 

"Jack, will you -" Davey pauses to grunt at the weight of whatever he's carrying, "- grab this box from me?"

They're moving in together now, having applied to the same college. These days most of what they do is together, but it was Davey's idea to share a dorm room and, because it's Davey, Jack can never quite say no. An outsider might say he'd jumped at the chance.

"Sure thing," Jack replies, jumping down from where he's stacking Davey's many books on the top shelf of his bookshelf.

"I can't believe we're finally moving in," Davey sighs contentedly, his hands in his pockets as he scans the room.

Jack shifts the box in his arms. "'S very exciting," he agrees. "Been a long time coming, if you catch my drift."

Davey gives him a sort of easy half-grin as he takes his hands out of his pockets and crouches down to unpack yet another box full of his abundant novel collection. This one is labelled  _Classics, R-Z,_ and it's just as full as the rest of them. "Why's that?"

"Been friends since we were eleven, Dave," Jack grins by way of explanation. "Betcha your mom thought this would'a happened a long time ago."

Davey laughs, nodding, and Jack's insides do a bit of a jig.

"I get what you mean," he agrees. "At least now we can do Terrible Movie Night without annoying anyone."

"Don't know about that," Jack says as he finally puts the box Davey gave him down on the desk. "Plus, most of the fun was annoyin' your entire family by gigglin' at 3am."

Davey reaches out, grinning again, and takes Jack's newsboy cap. He pulls it down over his own hair instead. "I'll move back home, if that's the only reason why we do it," he says.

"Don't you even go jokin' about that, David Jacobs, else I'll have to take drastic action," Jack threatens. Davey snorts, because Jack is so small in comparison, and it always makes him laugh to see how much fight can fit in such a tiny human.

"I'm sure you will," he says, looking like he couldn't be less sure of anything else in his life.

"You don't even wanna know," Jack says vaguely, spinning his cap round so it faces backwards on Davey's head. It suits him. Everything does.

Davey smiles softly. It's the sort of smile that makes Jack melt a little on the inside. "I'll just have to stay here forever, then."

Jack just smiles back, because that sounds pretty perfect, in his opinion.

 

Aged fourteen, Jack kisses Sarah Jacobs in the playground in front of everyone. Most people cheer, and Davey makes some weird, scrunched up face that Jack assumes has something to do with the fact that Sarah is his sister.

"I really don't think I like girls," Davey says to him, when they get a quiet moment alone at home afterwards.

"Yeah?" Jack says and looks over at him, but he isn't really surprised. Davey had never shown even the slightest amount of interest in any girl, ever.

"Yeah," Davey says quietly, like he's nervous. "Don't get me wrong, they're, uh, nice."

Jack snorts. "M'not sure your sister would appreciate me callin' her just  _nice_ ," he says, but he's not mocking Davey, and Davey knows it.

Davey laughs too. "Probably not."

"Don't sweat it, Dave," Jack says after a few minutes of rare silence. "Boys are pretty nice, too."

"They are, aren't they?" Davey agrees, and they stand up to go downstairs for more food, forever thinking alike.

 

You see, Jack is fully aware he's in love with his best friend. It's been that way for a while now, yet he still has no idea how to go about it. Instead of dealing with it rationally and maturely, both of which being traits that Jack has never displayed in his life, he just leaves it. He figures that if something's going to happen, it will happen.

Weeks pass and both of them settle into life at college without any problems. They develop an easy routine alongside each other, shoving toast in their mouths as they tumble out of the door to their respective classes, laughing and forever late because Jack forgets something every time. Soon, 'home' stops being Davey's family house laughing with Les and Sarah, the quiet of the fire escape outside Jack's lonely apartment and the warm hospitality of Katherine's fancy kitchen and becomes a place of their own.

They still, however, through all the change, maintain their Terrible Movie Night tradition.

Tonight Jack sits on the floor, a canvas propped up against the desk and his paints laid out beside him as Davey operates the remote.  _Shark Attack 3: Megalodon_ is playing, but Jack's attention is mostly on his painting, which isn't quite going according to plan. It happens sometimes, but it doesn't mean Jack is any less irritated by it.

His irritation is dulled somewhat whenever Davey laughs out loud at the absurdity of the movie.

"I still think Troll 2 is in the running for worst film ever, but this is pretty shocking," Davey says. He's lying spread-eagled on the couch behind Jack, and despite often being overheard telling people that he doesn't talk much, he hasn't been even remotely silent in over an hour.

"Dunno, Dave, I don't think much can beat Troll 2," Jack says, swipes again at the canvas with his paintbrush and then sighs. The colours look entirely wrong. "Damn."

"What's wrong?" Davey asks, lifting his head up from the couch to look at Jack.

"'S not going how I wanted it to go," Jack explains, which is a huge understatement, in his opinion.

"You could always start it again," Davey suggests, even though he knows Jack won't.

"Nah, I ain't got no time for that," Jack shakes his head. "But it looks kinda crap, if you ask me."

"Well, if you ask  _me_ , it looks amazing," Davey says, dropping his head back down onto the comfy red cushions. "You're always too self-conscious about your art, Jack. It's really good, you just need to stop thinking about it so much."

If there were any questions about who knew Jack best, they would always come back to Davey. Despite the confident front Jack puts on to the world, Davey has always been able to see what Jack doesn't show. Jack supposes this is why Davey's been able to put up with him for so long, and he loves Davey for it.

He smiles to himself and begins to mix some more colours. 

"You'll never guess what happened today at work," Davey says, launching in with one of his practically infamous conversation starters. Jack keeps grinning, because he's probably heard something very similar before, but it's not like he cares. He could listen to Davey talk all day. He  _does_.

"Some old guy paid for a $3 coffee with a $50 note and then just left," Davey snorts. "Alex had to sprint after him with his change and when he came back fifteen minutes later he said the guy was nowhere to be seen! He was old! How did he just disappear like that?"

Jack squints up at the screen. "Eaten by a shark?"

Davey laughs and points his remote in the direction of the screen. "Not that one, clearly."

"Doubt it would do much damage, considerin' it keeps changin' size," Jack mumbles with a paintbrush in his mouth, looking back down at his paint mixing.

"Jack... Jackie, look at this," Davey laughs loudly, waving his remote at the screen, "this is awful!"

"Yeah, I don't even think this movie makes our  _'so bad it's good'_  category, Dave," Jack says after squinting up at the screen again to watch. "'S, like, next level shit."

"Not to mention incredibly plagiarised. It's basically a boring Jaws," Davey yawns and then claps a hand over his mouth. "See? I'm falling asleep."

"You sleep," Jack says and turns his attention back to his painting. "I'll still be here, anyways."

Of course Davey falls asleep on the couch after a while, because that's what he always does, whether it's a good movie or a bad one. 

Somehow Jack ends up abandoning his canvas in favour of his sketchbook. He's always been inspired by Davey in more ways than one; his verging-on-mad concentration for any of his work or his immense drive to stand up for anything he believes in, and Jack likes to tell him this. The one thing Davey doesn't know, however, besides Jack's near enough infatuation with him, is that he's also very inspiring to draw.

 

"You're only making it worse for yourself," Katherine says over coffee one morning with the same direct honesty she uses in her reports. "Hanging around the apartment watching him fall asleep every evening is definitely not going to make matters better."

They do this once a week, at the coffee shop Davey works at. They keep doing it, even when Jack never has anything new to contribute to the conversation and feels increasingly stupid next to Katherine and her ever-growing intelligence. Jack likes it, though; Katherine is the best friend he has, besides Davey, and despite the fact that she always knows what he's thinking and they bicker relatively often, they enjoy one another's company.

Jack suspects Katherine likes to pick fault with his love life for fun. She's that type of person.

He shrugs and turns his attention to his coffee cup. "Yeah, but I like watchin' him."

She rolls her eyes. "Yes, I know, that's the problem. If you keep watching him you're just going to like it more, and then where will you be? Pining in the corner of the room in his future family home, probably," she says before he can answer, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "At this point I feel like this dorm sharing idea of yours was entirely self-indulgent."

"It was  _his_  idea, Kath," Jack reminds her, for what seems like the hundredth time.

"Perhaps," she shrugs, "but he's not the one that sits and sketches you once you're asleep, now, is he?"

"Can't help it," Jack says, because he knows it's not worth denying anything. Katherine knows everything and likes to make sure people know it, too. "He's too cute. That shit should be immortalised."

After a minute of silence, Jack looks up to see Katherine leveling him with a gaze that mixes somewhere between exasperation, irritation and sympathy.

"What?" Jacks frowns, defensive. 

"You need to get a grip," she tells him, which feels kind of unwarranted.

 

"There's an opening at the coffee shop," Davey mentions to Jack during the fall term, around October.

Jack laughs without looking up from his sketchbook. He's colouring in some sketches of Katherine that he did over coffee. She's got a good face for drawing, Jack always says. "'M already an artist, Dave, you wanna try and make me a hipster too?"

Davey grins and reaches over to shove Jack's cap down over his eyes. "You'd probably suit being a hipster. You should apply."

So of course Jack applies, because anything that means spending more time with Davey is worth doing.

Applying to Davey's coffee shop, however, means finally meeting Alex, which Jack has been mostly avoiding. Davey doesn't talk about Alex often, but when he does, it's all praise and laughing, leaving Jack to wonder if Davey talks about him like that to anyone.

"Hi there," Alex says, when they meet. "You're Jack Kelly?"

"The one and only," Jack says with a cocky grin, like he always does, and sticks out his hand. "Nice to meet'cha."

Alex shakes his hand gingerly, looking only mildly dubious, to give him credit. Jack is used to people being odd about his confidence, and he's been told many times that he always comes on too strong.

Jack watches him, low-key, for the rest of the day to see what all the fuss is about. Alex is cute, he supposes; he's got brown hair that's kind of in a quiff, and green eyes. He's friendly, good at his job, and he's relatively chatty without being too full on.

He can't seem to see anything special in Alex, but then again, Alex isn't Davey. It occurs to Jack that this happens to be a reoccurring theme in his life.

 

Two months pass and winter is upon them pretty fast. Davey starts pulling all-nighters in the library and Jack does the same in one of the art studios. They leave each other leftovers and write each other sticky notes and of course, as usual, Katherine's right: the simple domesticity of their routine is doing nothing to curb Jack's affections. If anything, the fact that they now just grab whatever's clean from the dryer makes it worse, as Jack now spends four out of seven days a week in Davey's sweaters.

It isn't until December, however, that Jack starts to notice Davey's sweaters smelling of something else.

Jack brings it up during one of their Terrible Movie Nights. They're watching _Christmas Evil_ and this time they've made popcorn, they're both on the couch and they're covered by a blanket. He turns over in Davey's lap to not-so-subtly give him a sniff.

"What are you smelling me for?" Davey says, incredulous, through a mouthful of popcorn.

"You smell funny," Jack mumbles. "Don't smell like you much these days. Smells like..." he trails off, trying to think of an example but falling short. "I dunno, like someone else."

When Davey doesn't reply, Jack sits up to look at him. Davey is bright red. It's not an unusual thing, Davey blushes very easily, but his silence is different.

"Dave," Jack says, and he's getting worried. "Talk to me."

"They smell like Alex," Davey says bluntly whilst clumsily avoiding his gaze. "I... stayed over? The other night."

Jack's heart drops. 

It's kind of his worst fears, confirmed. He figures that even though Alex has been under his close scrutiny for a while now, there's got to be something Davey sees that just isn't there. Something that Alex doesn't show to the world, but Davey pays enough attention to see it anyway.

Jack realises with a jolt that Davey's done that before, with him, and his heart breaks a little.

"Just the other night?" he asks, aiming for the casual, interested querying he usually adopts and falling almost comically short. "Or, like, every other night? 'Cause them sweaters have been smellin' an awful lot like Alex for weeks now."

"It's not every other night, Jack," Davey says, and he sounds kind of miserable. "Just some nights."

"You screwin' him, too?" Jack says. It's only when the words leave him that he realises he sounds more than a little angry. He knows it isn't fair; Davey is by no rights his to claim or defend, but the thought of Alex and Davey curled up in bed somewhere together still makes him feel more than physically sick.

"Jack!" Davey exclaims, sitting bolt upright in shock. "Of course not!"

"Platonic friends wear each other's sweaters just for hell of it, then?" Jack asks. He's standing up now, his arms crossed, watching Davey get redder by the minute.

Davey considers his answer for a minute, cheeks pink, staring at the carpet. Sometimes Jack wishes he would just say what comes to mind, like he does, but Davey is always calculating, planning his next words.

It's never maddened Jack before - usually Jack likes this about Davey, how he's always clever about his words rather than spouting out anything and everything - but it does now.

"You and I always do," he offers, and it's the wrong answer.

If Jack needs any more confirmation in that moment that Alex means more to Davey than he does, that's it. He tugs Davey's sweater over his head and throws it in Davey's lap.

"We don't never keep stuff like this from each other, Dave," he says tersely. "You gotta tell me this shit."

Then he strides out of the door in his shirt, leaving Davey speechless on the couch whilst the movie still plays in the background.

 

"Your text said it was an emergency _,_  so I immediately thought the worst and brought cupcakes," Katherine says, because she knows Jack well enough to know that he needs distracting. "I also brought you the blanket you asked for. Where's your sweater?"

"Thanks," Jack says glumly, avoiding the question and taking a cupcake from the box as Katherine throws the blanket over his shoulders.

"You don't have to explain what's going on, but it might make you feel better if you do," she tells him.

She's right, again.

"'S about Davey," Jack says before taking a bite of his cupcake.

"Clearly," says Katherine. Most things are, these days, and it doesn't take a genius to infer that Davey's the only thing Jack really emotes over any more.

"He's been sleepin' over at Alex's from the coffee shop," Jack explains to her. "He says it ain't nothin' special, but he don't never shut up about him, neither."

"I wonder what that feels like," Katherine mutters with her eyes to the sky. Jack shoves her, and she giggles, grabbing onto his shoulder to stop from falling off the bench.

"S'not funny, Kath," he says with his mouth full.

Katherine stops laughing, because he's right, it's not funny. "No, I'm sorry," she says, "but in all honesty, I'm not sure what you were expecting."

Jack pauses mid-bite. "Huh?" he grunts.

"Oh, Jack, come on," she sighs. "You've known David since you were  _eleven_. You've been best friends for so long and you've been in love with him for most of it. Even though you talk about it constantly, you've still not done anything about it. If he feels the same way about you, he's most likely given up on you. Lord knows I would have."

"But..." Jack trails off as he fails to defend himself. When he comes up with nothing he brushes the crumbs off his jeans silently.

"You can't blame him for looking elsewhere," Katherine continues firmly. "If you're not going to do anything about your feelings you can't stop him from being happy with somebody else. That's not fair."

"I can't make his decisions for him," Jack realises aloud, quietly, and Katherine nods.

"Anyway, if you want him to choose you, then you've got to let him know that you're an option. He can't choose you if he doesn't think you're interested. So far his only option is Alex," she says, and then sniffs. "Who, by many accounts, isn't even that attractive." 

Jack grins then, suddenly remembering why he loves her so much.

 

When Jack finally makes it back to their little apartment hours later, cold and full of cupcakes, prepped for a Feelings Talk, Davey is nowhere to be seen. Dejected, Jack helps himself to leftovers from the fridge despite not being hungry, shoveling them into his mouth for something to do. 

His eyes scan the room and fall upon the couch, where the popcorn bowl lies empty and Davey's jumper has been left over the back.

Tears prick his eyes. He's not allowed himself to cry yet, but that doesn't mean he hasn't wanted to for hours.

The thing about Jack and Davey is that they've always been against the world together. Whether it be Katherine's dad at the paper shop laughing at their strike, homophobes, the difficult college entry grades or the foster system, they've always joined forces to get through it.

People would laugh about their constant closeness, but it always meant a lot to Jack. He assumes it meant a lot to Davey, too, at one point.

A creaking sound means Jack tears his eyes away from the couch and towards the noise. Alex stands in Davey's doorway, looking a little like a deer caught in the headlights, and Jack doesn't know what he was expecting. Obviously Alex is the one Davey calls when he's upset.

For the first time, Jack is on his own, and he hates it.

He ignores Alex and turns back to his leftovers, hoping that he doesn't have to actually vocalise how much he doesn't want Alex anywhere near him, but Alex still walks over.

"Jeez, Dave can talk," Alex laughs. Jack feels a little like punching him, because if Davey could choose one thing he's insecure about to be rid of, it's how much he talks.

"He doesn't like bein' called Dave," Jack says, all in one tone of voice, because if he expresses any emotion at all he'll start yelling, at least. He's right in his correction; Jack has been the only person Davey allows to call him by that nickname, thinking it a little common. Jack always felt it was something special to them.

Alex smiles, like he knows something Jack doesn't. "Sorry," he says, grabbing a glass from the side and filling it with water. 

They stand in silence for a minute, Alex's face resting in the same eternal smile that he gives to the customers at the coffee shop. Still nothing special, Jack notes, but somehow a lot more irritating than before.

He wonders how the regular patrons in the shop like him so much, because surely they have to know that's a fake smile?

Then, through the quiet - "Alex?"

Jack recognises Davey's voice instantly. It doesn't sound like he's upset. His door creaks again, and this time it's Davey himself that sticks his head out. Jack can only just see past Alex to the door.

"Coming, Dave," Alex says, and Davey shoots him this  _smile_ , the same smile that whenever it's directed at Jack it makes his knees weak. This time, it feels like a punch in the gut. 

Davey only sees Jack when Alex moves out of the way, but by that point, it's too late. His face drops, cheeks reddening, but Jack walks into his room and slams the door.

 

"You've got to  _talk_ to him," Katherine repeats over the phone when Jack calls her, forever the voice of reason.

"I know," Jack says, despite wanting to do nothing of the sort.

 

"Good morning," Davey says when Jack resurfaces at 9am the following day. He's smiling, but Jack can see how tense he is.

"Mornin'," Jack says nonchalantly, helping himself to the cereal. "D'ya drink all the milk already?"

Davey snorts. "No, A-" he cuts himself short immediately, then clears his throat.

"Tell Alex if he's gonna steal my milk, he better replace it," Jack sniffs. He hopes it's enough of a white flag.

Davey doesn't reply, but when Jack looks at him, he can tell he's a lot less anxious. His shoulders have dropped from their stiff posture, his legs are crossed and his hands are wrapped around his mug, a true sign of Davey being comfortable. 

"Are you okay?" Davey asks after a while, knowing the answer already but not quite knowing why.

"Sure," Jack says, which is the wrong answer. Neither of them correct it.

 

They co-exist for a while. Whenever Davey goes out with Alex, which occurs increasingly often, Jack sits by himself and watches horror films in the dark. He paints - he has to, for college - but he never really likes his artwork that much anymore. 

Davey and Jack act like they're the same as they always were, on the surface, but they both know it's different.

 

"First year over!" Jack grins, and Davey grins back, and they smile at each other for a moment. "Fall semester, here we come!"

"You guys have done well," Alex smiles, and takes Davey's hand so Jack is reminded of his presence. 

"Hell yeah, we have!" Jack laughs, too happy to hate him for the moment. Katherine would be proud. He does a weird little jig, and Davey laughs.

"We gonna renew the lease for the apartment then, eh, Jacobs?" Jack says, his grin starting to hurt a little. He decides he doesn't care much at this moment in time - things are going well, for once, or as well as they can do when the love of your life has a boyfriend that isn't you. "Attack year two with everythin' we got?"

Davey's grin drops from his face and Alex gives him a look.

"Dave, I thought you were going to tell him," Alex mutters in a volume that is definitely for Jack to overhear.

"...Davey?" Jack says.

Davey levels Jack with a look, one that means he's moments away from crying. Jack wants to rush forward and hug him, but Alex stays by his side, staring at Jack.

"Alex and I are going to move in together for second year," Davey says quietly. "I didn't want to drop it on you."

Jack's heart breaks. The one thing that he and Davey have left to share is their apartment; despite Alex being round often, it's still theirs rather than his. Through everything else he has to share Davey: work and college aren't exclusive to Jack. Their apartment has always felt like a bit of a haven, where they can have Terrible Movie Night without interrupting, laugh at funny stories, work on their respective college work in a companionable silence and eat popcorn until they're full to the brim.

Jack can almost physically feel all of it being torn away from him, and he feels like shouting.

"How'd that work out for ya?" Jack says instead. He says it like he's joking but all three of them know he isn't.

"We just thought it would be best to have our own space, you know?" Alex says, fake cheerful.

Jack  _hmm_ s, because he knows exactly what Alex is thinking, and he's pretty sure it's something along the lines of  _haha, I've won!_. Jack knows Alex feels threatened by him, but somehow that isn't as satisfying as it should be, perhaps because Alex is dating Davey and he isn't.

"You're not upset, are you, Jack?" Alex asks. 

"Alex," Davey warns, and Alex smirks a little but stays quiet.

"Yeah, actually, Alex," Jack says, silently seething. "I gotta say I'm pretty upset I don't gotta put up with you skulkin' around my apartment anymore, suckin' out all my inspiration. You should pop round for visits, though, steal my milk or anythin' you like. _Jackass_."

"Jack - " Davey says, exasperated. He knows that despite the fact that Jack's always standing up for himself, it takes a lot for him to switch from polite anger to outright insults, but somehow, Alex has managed it.

Jack shakes his head, swings his bag over his shoulder, and stalks off.

 

_**(15:43) Davey:** I really am sorry. Please don't be upset._

_**(15:49) Jack:** don't worry about it_

_**(15:51) Jack:**  its not you_

_**(15:51) Jack:**  it's never you._

 

"This came for you."

A manila envelope with his work address in gold lettering drops down in front of Jack onto his laptop keyboard and he looks up to see Katherine standing over him with her arms crossed, in one of her more fashionable waistcoats. It's purple this time. Stripy sleeves.

"I've got an assistant for this stuff, y'know," Jack says but picks up the envelope anyway with a smile.

He's been working as an illustrator at _The New Yorker_ with Katherine for over six months now since graduation, but only got an assistant recently. He and Katherine are one and the same when it comes to doing everything by themselves, for themselves, but even Jack had to admit defeat when his piles of commissions and letters got entirely too large to handle.

"I know you do, he's a very nice boy," Katherine says. She isn't smiling. "I just thought I'd deliver this one myself."

"Why? It's pretty fancy," Jack says, but his cocky grin drops from his face when a piece of thick, white, embossed piece of card falls from the envelope and onto his knees. He brings it up to read it as Katherine stays both silent and still, anticipating his reaction with her hands behind her back.

 _You are invited to the wedding of David Benjamin Jacobs and Alexander Cameron Bryce,_ it reads.

The date falls on a Saturday, two months away.

Jack doesn't say anything. If he does he'll probably give away all the emotions he'd filed into a  _Davey_ area of his brain during his second year of college, and he realises Katherine's probably had enough of those for a lifetime.

Instead, his eyes burn with tears. Katherine knows exactly what he's feeling without having to listen to a word. Jack doesn't want to feel this stuff anymore - it's been about a year since they last spoke, after all, and even that had just been niceties - but he still knows he's in love with Davey. Perhaps he'll always be.

"I got one, too, about two months ago," Katherine says softly. Perhaps she thinks she's reassuring him, and Jack doesn't quite have the heart to tell her it isn't working.

"Well then, looks like I was a last resort and clearly I ain't goin' to it," he sniffs instead. "I don't get why I'm invited, neither."

"He wants you there, Jack," Katherine reasons. "You were his best friend for such a long time. Even if you haven't spoken in a very long while, he doesn't just want you to drop out of his life like you never even knew one another, and I know you don't, either. _He_ doesn't know you've been stalking him on the Internet all this time."

Jack glares at her, because she's right again. "Stop being so reasonable. It don't make it no easier."

She smiles a little, takes the invite and pins it to the noticeboard opposite Jack's desk, right in the middle and directly in front of him.

"On the contrary," she says, "I think you've already decided."

Then she leaves, and Jack is left glaring at the invitation.

 

"Jack!" Sarah shouts as soon as she sees him. "Oh, thank God, I didn't know if you'd be coming! Dave said you'd not RSVP'd to the invite or anything, but it would be so like you not to do that and then just _turn up_ , or something - hey, you look good."

"Sarah," Jack breathes out an immense sigh of relief. "Thanks. Kath's just comin', and, uh, I didn't RSVP 'cause I don't wanna be here."

Sarah blinks at him. "Well, uh, you're very... to the point these days." 

"Yeah, well, I'm a changed man. That kid you kissed in a playground ain't so naïve anymore, and it's got somethin' to do with your brother and his weasel of a fiance," Jack says absently, scanning the crowd for Katherine, feeling hugely out of his depth.

"Alex is nice," Sarah frowns, defending, although she doesn't seem too committed to doing so.

"Sure, he's real nice," Jack says, "but if he's marryin' your brother don't you think he should be somethin' a little more than _nice?"_

"Jack," Katherine warns, coming up behind him. "We're not here to cause trouble, remember, we're here to support David on his wedding day, of all things. Oh, good morning, Sarah!"

Sarah tears her eyes away from where they've been trained on Jack, calculating. "Hi, Kathy! How are you?"

The two women walk ahead of Jack, making conversation like they speak every day. To be entirely honest, Jack wouldn't put it past them. Katherine has a freaky talent for balancing a great job, many leisure activities, _running_ and a very full social calendar. Jack, who spends his days drawing and making his way through every horror movie in existence, finds it difficult to comprehend.

"Dave's an elementary school teacher now, Jack, did you know?" Sarah says, and Jack doesn't answer because yes, he checks up on Davey's Facebook profile every day on his lunch break, without fail. Sarah doesn't really notice his silence.

"Does he like his first class?" Katherine asks conversationally. Jack isn't sure whether she's actually interested or just a really good actress, but Sarah ploughs on all the same.

"Oh, he loves it," Sarah gushes. "He's starting off in second grade. All the kids love him, obviously."

The thought of Davey surrounded by small children makes Jack ache a little bit inside. He ignores it. He has to.

Sarah's phone goes off and she pulls it out of her clutch to check it. "Oh!" she says. "Dave's coming to find me, he says I've still got his cufflinks..."

She digs further into her clutch and fishes out said cufflinks. "Oh, for God's sake," she huffs, like it's somebody else's fault she has one of the groom's cufflinks in her clutch bag. "I knew something like this would happen."

"Sarah?"

Time stops for a moment.

Davey stands behind his sister, and Christ, he looks incredible. He's grown up, somewhat, over the past year, and he's in a suit, obviously. Somewhat embarrassingly, Jack's jaw drops open.

Davey says nothing to neither Jack nor Katherine, however, as he takes his cufflinks from Sarah and hurries off, thanking her profusely. He probably doesn't see them in his hurry, but Jack is a little hurt all the same.

"I didn't realise you still had it this bad for him, Jackie boy," Sarah shakes her head.

"What?" Jack asks, dumbfounded, because is he really that obvious, even now?

"It's clear as day," Sarah adds. "You've always been pining after him, but you haven't spoken for a year and you're still in love with him? That was such a loved-up look you gave him. This is nuts."

"I'm now a self-appointed couples therapist," Katherine interjects. "I've just only got one half of the couple."

"...and the other half is getting married in an hour," Sarah finishes with a sigh. "You screwed up big time, Kelly my friend."

"I miss Davey," Jack groans, because Davey would never do this to him.

"Clearly," Sarah and Katherine say at the same time.

It occurs to Jack at this point, standing very much in the way of the arriving guests, that Davey needs to know _everything_. He may be two years too late, but Davey needs to know all the options before he makes a choice.

"Where is he?" Jack asks Sarah.

She and Katherine exchange a glance.

"Getting ready in Room 31B," Sarah says, because even after all these years there's a certain charm to Jack that she can't quite say no to.

"Don't do anything stupid," Katherine adds before Jack takes off down the corridor.

He finds 31B relatively easily and knocks on the door, rap, rap, rap with his knuckles like he always used to do on Davey's bedroom door when he needed something.

Davey wrenches open the door and his smile dies on his lips.

They stand in silence for a minute, taking one another in fully. Neither of them have grown, but they've both grown older.

"Still short, I see," Davey jokes. His voice breaks slightly half way through.

Jack rolls his eyes. "Still cheeky, I see," he retorts.

Then they're both crying, tears burning at their eyes and spilling over down their cheeks. Still neither of them move.

"Look, Dave, this is real bad timing, I know," Jack begins, "but there's somethin' I gotta tell ya before you marry... before you marry Alex."

Davey doesn't move, so Jack carries on.

"We've been friends since we were eleven, Dave," he says. "That's a lotta years, and I gotta tell ya, I think I've probably been a bit in love with you for all of 'em."

Still Davey doesn't move, but Jack notices his grip tighten on the door handle.

"Kath told me, first year of college, I gotta let you know I'm an option before you choose someone," Jack continues. "I know it's way too late now, but this is me. Lettin' you know."

Davey clears his throat. "Letting me know what?"

Jack fixes his gaze to the ceiling. "That I'm in love with you, ya moron. Have been for years. I was only mad at Alex all the time 'cause he had what I was too much of a coward to try and get myself. And also because he was a jackass."

Davey blinks at him. 

"You don't gotta be a jerk about it, though," Jack finishes. "And I get it, you're marryin' Alex. I ain't askin' for you to choose me no more. But, I'm hopin' for your sakes he ain't as much of a jackass as he was."

"Jack," Davey says. "Why on earth have you waited until my wedding day to tell me this?"

Jack opens his mouth and then closes it again, because now he thinks about it, it does seem nothing short of ridiculous.

He needs to buy Katherine a lifetime supply of chocolate as a thank you for putting up with it.

Jack shrugs. "You were happy with Alex," he says, because it's a good a reason as any. "I like seein' you happy, Dave. It just sucks that it ain't with me - but that's my fault."

There's silence for a moment, me then Davey sighs, loud and long-suffering.

"It's been this many years and still you continue to test me," Davey says. 

"Huh?" Jack grunts.

"I really want to kiss you right now," Davey says, "but I am not that much of an asshole."

Jack thinks he's about to throw up, or punch something, or yell, or do a dance, or sweep Davey off his feet - the excitement, relief and numb disbelief that courses through him is electrifying.

"Davey, don't mess me around if you ain't serious," Jack warns, but his grin is so wide he looks entirely the opposite of serious.

Davey shakes his head. He's grinning too, and it's the most beautiful thing Jack's ever seen.

"Of course I'm serious," he says.

 

Jack isn't there for Davey's chat with Alex, despite his desperate longing to see his reaction. Jack has spent many a lunch break imagining what Alex's face would look like if he came to sweep Davey off his feet.

So the wedding is called off, obviously. Alex is simultaneously upset and angry, which is understandable, but Jack, with his hand in Davey's, finds it very difficult to care at all.

"I thought I told you not to do anything stupid," Katherine says, but she's grinning wider than Jack has ever seen her smile.

"It's been a long enough time coming," Sarah says to them both when she sees them walking down the corridor, hands intertwined.

"Lord knows I've had enough of being Jack's unlicensed therapist," Katherine adds.

Jack adds it to the long list of 'things to explain later'.

Les buzzes around them, yelling about how he prefers Jack anyway, and Alex was boring.

"I want Jack as my new brother," Les says to anyone who will listen. "He's cool. He draws for magazines, and he's amazing at playing games! Alex just makes coffee and it isn't even good! He was rubbish at games."

Their first quiet moment alone is in Room 31B, after Mr and Mrs Jacobs leave, following much more gushing and crying than Jack can ever handle.

"What are you thinking about?" Davey asks Jack, sitting next to him on the couch.

"Just..." Jack trails off and shrugs, grinning. "I gotta family now, Dave. Never thought I'd get one of my own."

Davey takes Jack's hand and squeezes it.

"You've always had my family, you dumbass," Davey says and his voice is overflowing with affection. "Now it's just more official."

It's then that Jack leans in for the one thing he's wanted to do since the age of probably thirteen.

Their lips meet and it's not like fireworks or New Year's or anything from the cheesy romance stories Katherine secretly loves to read. It's like home - reliable, safe, warm and constant.

It's Davey in a nutshell, and Jack is entirely in love with every part of it. 

"I love you," Jack says when he pulls away, because he can.

"I love you too," Davey smiles.

 

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](miastree.tumblr.com)  
> [gillian's tumblr](wetandmoldybread.tumblr.com)  
> [my art blog](miastr.tumblr.com)  
>  i hope you enjoyed this because man, it took a While  
> also i have no idea how to write time passing????? soz?? it was a slog lemme tell ya but i enjoyed it thoroughly


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